


By the Tail

by Barkour



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-08
Updated: 2016-05-08
Packaged: 2018-06-07 04:10:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6784636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Barkour/pseuds/Barkour
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The rest of the Avengers might be cool, but Peter's still just a kid stuck herding a bunch of smaller kids around on Halloween.</p>
            </blockquote>





	By the Tail

**Author's Note:**

> Just something silly after Civil War. Assuming that Zendaya is playing MJ in the upcoming Spider-man film!

Halloween fell on a Monday that year, and a number of parents on the street were unable to safeguard their kids through the neighborhood. Generously Aunt May volunteered Peter as chaperone.

"May, I got stuff to do!" 

"Oh, you're so far ahead in classes, my little genius boy--" She grabbed his head in passing and pressed a smacking kiss to his forehead. 

He made a show of being too mature for such affections, mumbling, "May, ugh, c'mon."

Aunt May moved on to the kitchen to check on the roast. 

"It's only for a couple hours! And you know those kids love you."

"They think I'm a nerd."

"What, because you tutor them?" She snorted. "Rochelle in B," meaning the family on the top floor of the house next door, "says she wants to be a doctor now because of you."

Peter hovered in the entryway to the little kitchen. He rubbed at his arm. "Really? She said that?"

Aunt May piled silverware on top of the stacked plates. "It's happening, Peter. You're our neighborhood hero. Put this on the table, all right?"

"Yeah, cool," he squeaked. He tried to remember if she'd been up in the crawlspace recently. "Uhhhh, hero, right. Hahaha."

He hurried to the table.

"That spider-guy has nothing on you!" Aunt May called after him. Peter tried not to have a panic attack.

*

He couldn't wear the Spider-man costume out, not even the old one that Stark had replaced. 

"Look at this," Tony had said, "this is a onesie. This is by definition a onesie. Oh, my god, it zips up in the back! You couldn't find one with a butt-flap?"

Aunt May found an old striped shirt for him and she painted some white spots on his cheeks and little eyeliner-sketched whiskers to fit them.

"Do I really have to dress up?"

"The costume was your idea!"

"Yeah, but..." He pitched his voice lower. "The cat ears?"

"They were 50¢ at the Rite-Aid," Aunt May said, "and they're adorable. You look so cute. Oh, Peter, oh, look at you. Oh, let me get my camera."

"Ma-a-ay--"

"Just one picture! I won't even put it up on Facebook!"

She insisted he make kitty claws and when he stared at her in horror, Aunt May laughed.

"Just don't eat too much chocolate. You have school tomorrow."

"I know!" he shouted over his shoulder. "I'm supposed to be studying!"

Peter hoped nobody was doing anything too criminal-y tonight. The fairy, the pirate, the lobster boy, the Darth Vader, and the Princess Iron Man would probably cramp his game.

"Oh, cool, I know Iron Man," he said to royalty.

"Me too!" she yelled.

"Everybody got your bags?"

The pirate dinosaur-roared.

"Awesome," said Peter.

*

Two streets, that was all they were set to do. They did the front side then hooked a right and did that side of the block too, and on the corner Peter was surprised to discover someone had finally rented the old Jackson place. Several paper skeletons and a number of plastic skulls decorated the half-barren yard.

The kids were arguing loudly that they should keep going and do the whole block and then go home. The sun had set. Electric candles flickered spookily in the windows of the old Jackson place.

"Just one more house," Peter told them, "and then we're cutting down the back, okay?"

The lobster boy complained but the rest of the kids, sugar-fueled and just so stoked to be here, thank you all so much, rushed the door. Peter grabbed lobster boy by the claw and hurried after them. The stupid discount costume tiger tail bounced behind him.

The door had opened a fraction. A long, wrinkled, green rubber finger jutted through the crack. A weedly witch's voice said, "Oh, more children for my pot?"

"Trick or treat!" "Trick or treat!" "Don't eat me!" yelled Darth Vader.

A girl laughed. The door swung open. "I couldn't eat such cute kids," she said. "Where's your parents?" She looked past the chanting group of kids and spotted Peter, now abandoned on the steps by the hungering lobster boy.

Her eyebrows shot up. She was brown, with dark eyes and a knobbed chin and dark red locs under a drooping purple witch's hat. A toy Spider-man spider hung off the tip of the hat.

"Uh," said Peter, "hey. I'm Peter Parker."

Her smile half-blinded. The kids were unaware. Peter thought his knees were about to pop out from under him and he'd collapse into separate parts like a Lego man.

"Here you go," said the girl. To the kids she held out a huge glass bowl filled with candy, and no fun-size to be seen anywhere. 

Pandemonium erupted. 

Peter blurted, "You bought full-size bars?"

The girl, giggling, said, "Face it, tiger! You hit the jackpot!" and the lobster yelled, "Oh my god, there's so much candy!" and Princess Iron Man activated the repulsor sound effect on her gloves.

"Wha, what's your name?"

Over the heads of the children, the girl stretched her free hand out to Peter.

"I'm Mary-Jane," she said. "MJ. Watson," she added. "I like your costume, Peter."

"I like yours," he said. "Big fan of Spider-man?"

Mary-Jane lit up. "Did you see he was on the news? With Black Panther, in Morocco? How rad is that?"

Peter was smiling too, helpless and stupid in its hugeness. She hefted her locs over her shoulder and smiled hugely too.

"Yeah, he's pretty cool. Spider-man is."

Mary-Jane dimpled when she smiled. Very easily she said, "I don't know. You look pretty cool yourself, Peter Parker." Then she winked at him.

"Yeah, my aunt did the make-up," Peter said, and then every inch of skin on his body clenched in horror at what he'd said.

Mary-Jane laughed again. He wanted to die. Then MJ pointed to a red and blue spot high on her cheek, a painted faux-tattoo that her locs had hidden when they were swept before her. 

"My mom did mine," MJ said, looking sheepish.

"Spider-man," he said. He nodded. "Very nice."

More dimples bit at her cheeks. The kids clamored around Peter to go to one more house, just one more. Mary-Jane reached into the bowl and tossed him a Crunch bar.

"See you around, Peter," she said.

"Yeah, awesome, you too," said Peter.

MJ laughed as she closed the door.

"What was that?" asked the lobster. "Hey, can I have your chocolate?"

"No, get your own," said Peter, clutching the Crunch bar to his chest. "This one's mine. You got a whole bucket."

"Fi-i-ine," the lobster groaned. He stomped ahead and shouted, "Nerd!"

"I'm gonna eat all your Starbursts," Peter shouted back. 

He portioned the Crunch bar out across most of two weeks. The very last piece, he ate on a Sunday outside of a bank in London. 

"Not sharing?" asked Falcon.

"Nope," said Spider-man. 

"Kids these days," said Falcon.

That Monday, he ran into Mary-Jane outside his Trigonometry class. She dropped her books. He caught her before she fell. 

"Uh," said Peter, wide-eyed and suddenly overly hot.

MJ said, "Hey! Peter Parker!" and she blinked rapidly, her lashes fluttering as she looked at his shoulders then his hand on her arm then his face. "Where've you been hiding?"

"Just," he said, "around, oh, hey, I'm sorry about your books," and he set her on her feet again and they bent together to gather up what had spilled between them.


End file.
